Five tricks to decorating that the kids won't wreck

If you have kids at home, from toddlers to teenagers, I have fabulous news for you: You don't have to wait until they leave home to infuse your home with high style.

If you have kids at home, from toddlers to teenagers, I have fabulous news for you: You don't have to wait until they leave home to infuse your home with high style.

There are lots of kid-friendly ways to make your home beautiful, despite the wear and tear that a family can bring.

Here are five tips for making your home look sensational and family-friendly:

If your kids are not at a stage of life where you can place accessories on your coffee table or end tables for fear of the accessories being broken, finish off your room by dressing your walls in imaginative artwork.

Think of art as accessories that hang, instead of sitting on a tabletop. When it's up on a wall, it's safe from little hands, and unless it gets hit by a flying basketball, it won't break.

Start by getting your furniture placed exactly where you want it. Then fill in the open wall space with art that expresses your family's spirit. What do you love? Tell people through your artwork. It will not only become the focal point of your room, it will give people insight into what makes your family special.

Coffee-table ottomans are one of the greatest things to happen to family homes. They are attractive and perfect for little kids.

I can't tell you how many moms have told me that their babies learned to walk by scooting around a big ottoman. Others tell me their preschoolers like to curl up on top of the comfy ottomans, pop in their thumb and rest for a few minutes from their play. Now that is a family-friendly piece of furniture if ever there was one.

One great feature of a coffee-table ottoman is that if your kids accidentally decorate it with markers, or spill grape juice on it, or just love it until it's a bit threadbare, it can easily be recovered using just a few yards of fabric.

Another plus is that these ottomans look great with absolutely no decorations on top of them. Pick fabric that sports a fun pattern or arresting color, and you're good to go.

Some ottomans are tall enough for you to slide a storage basket filled with toys underneath, giving you bonus storage space. Don't want the basket to show? Pick an ottoman with a skirt.

When young moms (or people with pets) used to ask me to help them select fabrics for upholstered furnishings, I always teased that we needed to pick something the color of dirt. But now, the sky is the limit when it comes to kid-friendly upholstered furniture, thanks to the revolution in outdoor fabrics.

Today's outdoor fabrics are absolutely gorgeous, not at all the stiff and shiny and unattractive stuff we used to put on the chaise lounge on the patio.

If outdoor fabric isn't for you, here's a recommendation I make to young moms that may sound crazy: Put white fabrics on your furniture. I know — it may show dirt easier. But you can often clean up that little dribble of juice or pencil mark using a stain stick.

Still doesn't sound appealing to you? Then go for fabric that camouflages dirt.

One easy way to cozy up a room is by dressing windows with fabric panels. While there are always exceptions to the rules, most kids leave drapes alone. But still, select fabric that can handle the occasional jelly smudge.

Miraculously, some kids seem to never bother child-safe accents that are displayed on tables or other spots within their reach. But in my experience, most kids like to investigate, so if you want to use accents in your interior decor — especially those that are breakable — they must be displayed where the kids can't reach so the children run absolutely no risk of harming themselves.

If you love to decorate with breakables like plates and platters, mount the plates on the wall, above your kitchen cabinets or stove, where they can't accidentally be knocked down by a flying Nerf ball.

Another great place to decorate when your kids are very little is the fireplace mantel. Usually the mantel is the focal point of the room, so if you are able to dress it up, no one will notice if your side tables are undecorated.

Mary Carol Garrity can be reached at marycarol@nellhills.com. Visit nellhills.com.